Colorado Native Lager is all local with homegrown hops, barley and yeast

Nearly everything that goes into brewing and bottling Colorado Native Lager, from the hops to the packaging, comes from Colorado.

Colorado Native Lager is as local as beer gets. The only beer in the world made with ingredients that come entirely from the state of Colorado, this unique dark amber lager is the result of dedication to supporting small local hop fields and other community farmers and businesses. AC Golden Brewing Company started a hop program in its home state, partnering with hop farmers to share the cost of infrastructure and create a new industry.

In this video, Glenn Knippenberg, co-founder and president of AC Golden Brewing Company, and Jeff Nickel, Head Brewer, talk about how going local has resulted in a fresher, crisper beer and a sense of pride in the community.

AC Golden Brewing Company buys about 90% of the hops grown in Colorado today for Colorado Native Lager. The hops are hand-picked from the fertile fields of the San Luis Valley before being blended with locally-grown Moravian barley, Rocky Mountain water and the oldest strain of brewing yeast in the state. This yeast was first introduced to Colorado shortly after the end of the Prohibition in the 1930s from a brewery in Munich, Germany.

Even the packaging comes from within the state. The beer is bottled in small batches and hand-packed into specially-designed cases, in which they travel to bars and restaurants. To get a taste of Colorado Native Lager, you'll have to plan a visit - this beer is a 100% local experience.

"It was important to us to create a brand of beer that has a very low impact on the environment," says Glenn Knippenberg. "We don't ship the beer out of the state of Colorado. We don't ship bottles, cans or boxes into the state of Colorado. So we don't have a very big impact on the environment."

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